# How to Play Cribbage and Count a Hand

> A plain guide to two-player cribbage: the crib, the starter card, pegging to 31, and counting fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes and nobs on the way to 121.

- URL: https://oneshotgems.ai/topics/how-to-play-cribbage
- Category: Games to play
- Type: Guide
- Updated: October 17, 2026

Cribbage looks complicated because of the board, but a hand has only three parts: discard to the crib, play cards in turn while keeping a running count, then count what you hold. This guide covers standard six-card cribbage for two, the version in our Cribbage game. When you play it, each scoring combination is announced with the cards that made it, so you can check your counting against the game as you learn.

## Dealing and the crib

Each player is dealt six cards and puts two face down into the crib, which belongs to the dealer and is counted at the end of the hand. The non-dealer cuts the deck and the dealer turns up the starter card. If the starter is a jack, the dealer scores two, called his heels.

## Pegging to 31

Starting with the non-dealer, players take turns laying one card face up and saying the running total. Making the count exactly fifteen or thirty-one scores two. A pair with the previous card scores two, three of a kind six, four of a kind twelve, and a run of three or more cards in any order scores one per card.

If you cannot play without passing 31, say go; your opponent plays on and scores one for the last card, or two for reaching exactly 31. The count then restarts at zero until every card has been played.

## Counting a hand

After pegging, each player counts their four cards together with the starter: first the non-dealer, then the dealer, then the dealer's crib. Points come from the combinations below, and every distinct combination counts, which is why a few fives and tens can score a lot.

| Combination | Points |
| --- | --- |
| Each combination of cards totalling 15 | 2 |
| A pair | 2 |
| Three of a kind (pair royal) | 6 |
| Four of a kind | 12 |
| A run of three or more | 1 per card |
| Four-card flush in hand (five with the starter) | 4 or 5 |
| Jack of the starter's suit (nobs) | 1 |

## Winning the game

Points are pegged on the board as they are scored, and the first player to reach 121 wins at once, even in the middle of a hand. A player who wins while the opponent has not reached 91 has skunked them. Because the dealer owns the crib, the deal alternates and a strong crib can swing a close game.

## Questions

**What is the highest possible cribbage hand?** Twenty-nine: three fives and the jack in hand with the remaining five as the starter, in the same suit as the jack.

**Does a flush count in the crib?** Only if all four crib cards and the starter share a suit, for five points. A four-card flush counts only in a hand.

**Who counts first in cribbage?** The non-dealer always counts first. Near the end of a game that can decide the winner before the dealer counts.

## Follow your curiosity

- [Free Card Games Online: Rummy, Gin Rummy, Cribbage and Solitaire](https://oneshotgems.ai/topics/card-games): Play classic card games in your browser: rummy and gin rummy against the computer, cribbage to 121, and Klondike or Spider solitaire on your own.
- [How to Play Rummy: Rules, Melds and Scoring](https://oneshotgems.ai/topics/how-to-play-rummy): Learn basic rummy fast: dealing, drawing and discarding, sets and runs, laying off, going out and scoring, then practise a hand against the computer.
- [A Low-Pressure Browser Game Night for Families](https://oneshotgems.ai/topics/games-for-family-game-night): Plan an age-aware family game night with clear turns, simple score rules and an optional separate-attempt browser challenge.

## Further reading

- [Play Cribbage](https://oneshotgems.ai/g/cribbage)
- [Pagat: Six-card cribbage](https://www.pagat.com/adders/crib6.html)

---
Canonical page: https://oneshotgems.ai/topics/how-to-play-cribbage